My Childhood Memory
by TheGirlOfMyHeart
Summary: FFNfic#8: Natsu remembers a distant memory from his childhood about a tomboyish girl named Lucy who was apparently his enemy. As he goes back down memory lane, he remembers the times they'd fought, the times they'd taunted each other, the times they'd humiliated each other. And he also remembers burying Lucy into the deepest depths of his memory, forgetting her. NaLu.


**My Childhood Memory**

written by TheGirlOfMyHeart

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This fic is based on a story that I'd read a long time ago. I do hope that I won't get sued for plagiarism (though this is not completely plagiarized; I modified a few scenes, added some plot, polished the grammar structure, fixed the realism, etc.).

Anyway, please enjoy. I know that this isn't perfect and that it has a lot of mistakes, but please bear with me. :)

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**Full summary:** Natsu remembers a distant memory from his childhood about a tomboyish girl named Lucy who was apparently his enemy. As he goes back down memory lane, he remembers the times they'd fought, the times they'd taunted each other, the times they'd humiliated each other… He also remembers the time when he tells the story to his wife, Lisanna. He also remembers burying Lucy into the deepest depths of his memory, forgetting her. NaLu.

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"…fought with a boy from her class. Threw a rock at his head which she had from her backpack," the principal is saying sternly, pushing up her glasses as she looks at me with annoyance in her eyes. "Mr. Dragneel, your daughter is a troublemaker. You have to teach her not to fight. It's very unbecoming of a lady."

I snap out of my thoughts and regard the situation I am in. _Heh, my little girl's growing up fast. As expected; she takes after me!_ "Course I will, ma'am," I tell her with my best serious look plastered on my face. "I'll make sure she learns her manners."

She leans back in her chair, looking grimly satisfied. "Good. I expect changes from Nashi's behavior after a week. I will give her that much time _just as long as you make sure that you keep this problem of hers in mind_."

"Yes, ma'am!" I stand up from the chair I was sitting on and make my way towards the door.

"Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Dragneel…"

I turn my head to face her, confused.

She gives me an evil grin which sends cold shivers down my spine. "I want to meet your wife, too. Please do tell her. Tomorrow."

I gulp. _Oh boy. Sorry, Nashi… Daddy can't protect you anymore…_

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"She _what_?!" Lisanna drops the spatula she was holding.

I flinch. "She… fought with a boy in her class today. Threw a rock at him, actually. That was what started the fight."

She grits her teeth in frustration. "That girl really doesn't know any manners," she half-wails.

I walk up to her and grin, melting all the anger from her face. "Hey, hey, it's not really _that_ bad. It can be fixed."

She sighs. But then a smile graces her lips as her expression becomes thoughtful. "You know, Nashi reminds me of you long ago."

"Oh, _that_?" I rub the back of my head sheepishly. "That was a long time ago. I already grew out of it."

"Oh really?" She gives me a look. "You fought with a _girl_, Natsu. And you were in _college_."

"But I wasn't the one who always started it!" I protest.

"From what I remember back then, you always provoked _her_," she teases.

"No! She was always the one who provoked me first!"

"Did it hurt your pride back then, Natsu?" A glint appeared in her eye.

"N-No, of course not." I turn away from her, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Our conversation leads me back to those days. To the time when I was a bit of a troublemaker.

And a certain girl.

Lucy Heartfilia.

She was in the same class as me; she had short blonde hair that reached down her chin, large chocolate-brown eyes, and a tomboyish personality. She had a bit of a mean right hook, and whenever she saw me, I would always end up fighting her because she wanted me to become her punching bag.

The day we first met, it didn't end well. By the end of class, we were still arguing about meaningless things and shooting death glares at each other. At that moment, I knew that we were certainly _not_ going to get along with each other.

Days passed, then weeks. We were still unfriendly towards each other, but thankfully, we were loaded with schoolwork so it kept us busy from the constant fighting.

However, one day, she'd approached me with an expression on her face that I had never dreamed I would see on her.

She was actually _merry_.

"Hey, idiot face!" she greeted with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow at her actions. "What do you want, little rich girl?" I almost sneered at her.

She didn't even react at my response which surprised me a little. Slowly, she took out a seemingly large box wrapped in red art paper with complex designs drawn all over it from her red-haired friend.

"Happy birthday," she said, grinning.

My jaw literally fell open.

"What are you looking so ugly for?!" she scolded. "Now receive your gift from me before I punch the living daylights out of you!"

I took it from her and gave her a smile. "Thank you."

A red shade tinted her cheeks and she fidgeted a bit, looking flustered. "N-N-No problem," she stammered. "I-I gotta go! See you, moron!"

I was actually frozen in place by the uncharacteristically kind gesture she showed me. Could it be that there was a chance for the two of us to get along after all?

Back then, I knew that it was just wishful thinking.

Why? Because the next day, she came up to me while I was busily talking with my friend and socked me in the gut _with no reason at all_!

I'd growled at her, and thus the fight began.

After that, I practically hated her.

Then months passed by, and it was graduation day. I was feeling very happy at that time since in my mind, I was congratulating myself on finishing college _and_ never getting to see Lucy again. Seeing her was bad for my health.

Two years passed, and the job I'd gotten helped me a lot financially. I was doing well with my life and I was extremely content.

However, I had no love life. My dad was constantly badgering me about me being alone for the rest of my while and my mother was always relentlessly begging me to give her a grandchild. After a few months, I finally gave in, seeing that if I wouldn't do what they said then they'd constantly annoy me for the rest of my life.

So I started dating.

All of them were unsuccessful. I had the negative thought in my mind that maybe I wasn't meant to have a wife at all.

But then one day, she came. She was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen. Her hair danced with the wind, her eyes blazed with intelligence, and on her face was a smile that warmed my insides.

She introduced herself as Lisanna Strauss. After getting to know her for a bit, I felt that she was a bit familiar. A friend of mine, perhaps? Maybe it was so long ago that I'd forgotten.

But then she clarified it to me that we'd met when we were children.

So that would explain why I'd forgotten.

Then she told me something that made me freeze.

She had a child already. She confessed to me that she had been raped and that she was disowned by her parents. She added that if I had thoughts of having a relationship with her, I'd better think about it right now.

But I had already made my decision.

So what if she had a child already? I told her that I would take care of her beloved daughter as if she was my own. After that, she practically hugged me with grateful tears in her eyes.

After a year of dating, I finally got the guts to propose to her. And, as expected, she said yes, and we were married a month after.

While we were settling in our new house, I told her about myself.

And Lucy accidentally slipped out of my tongue.

"Lucy…?" she questioned.

"Lucy Heartfilia. She was my enemy when I was in college. We always fought. There was almost never a day that we didn't fight. She had this tomboyish attitude and she loved to taunt, tease, and annoy me. She even called me an idiot," I grumbled.

An amused smile spread across her face. "Oh, I see," she said. "I guess we have something in common, then."

I turned to her, curious.

"There's this guy. We met when we were children. We got acquainted with each other for a while before I moved out of town. But I love him ever since. Then we met again in high school. We were never in the same class, so I only got to watch him from afar. Then in college. In our last year, we were finally classmates. But after witnessing several of my friends getting hurt by their crushes, I changed my tactic. I pretended to be a tomboyish girl. I worked out. I punched. Then I tried out my efforts on him. He was furious at me for what I did, but I knew that it worked. He finally noticed me. I teased him, taunted him, annoyed him… All just to get his attention. But unfortunately, there was a mistake in my strategy because he never once considered me as a girl. I planned to go back to my girlish side on graduation day, but I never saw him again. Then I met him coincidentally and I was overjoyed to see him. But I was not who I was anymore. I changed my name because of shame. I changed my look for me not to be recognized. And when the two of us talked to each other, I was giddy when I realized that he finally looked at me as a girl." She looked at me with longing in her eyes as my mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "I finally got you, Natsu Dragneel."

I was too shocked to say anything.

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And that's what happened. Lisanna—_Lucy_—told me that Lucy doesn't exist anymore and that she's a different person now. She's Lisanna Strauss, my wife.

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When I fetch my daughter from school today and catch her fighting with the boy again, I smile, watching the scene with pride swelling in my chest.

She really is like her mother.

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**THE END**

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Was it good? Was it lame? Was it obviously rushed? Please tell me, I feel so nervous. I feel like this fic isn't a good one. Did you all enjoy? Did you all understand the story? Thanks for reading, by the way. :)


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